Cresents and the Cards
by Lady Foxgloves
Summary: Seto Kaiba meets a girl and they fall in love while she and her twin sister deal with their 'curse' and Kaiba tries to keep up with his company and Duel Monsters.
1. Prolouge: Monsters and Nightmares

Author's Note: This is the revised version of the story, Chapter 1 is different to. I think it's better then the old version. I'm just glad I'm updating. Tell me what you think. Lady Foxgloves

Prolouge: Monsters and Nightmares

All around her there was darkness. She seem to float in it, her only sense was the sound of her heart beating. She couldn't tell where she was but there was a strange light ahead of her that she wanted to go to. In front of her appeared a woman.

She had dark skin and long black hair. Her purple eyes glowed as she held up a necklace with both hands. "Serena," the woman said. "Ahead you see that light, you must go to it. It awaits you, your Destiny."

"My Destiny?" Serena said. Then she remembered, her body and her voice, and her mind all came back to her. She wore her school uniform, the blue skirt and pink blazer, with a white dress shirt underneath. She too had long black hair, but with paler skin and dark blue eyes. Serena turned to the light that seemed much nearer.

"Be aware of what is ahead of you, and who." With that the woman vanished leaving Serena to enter the strange light in front of her. Suddenly a forbodding feeling came upon her that made her sweat, and she could hear the woman's voice in her head, "If you survive this, then you can overcome all obstacles." She found herself trusting the voice and stepped into the light.

Immediatley she felt the sensation of fallng and her stomach flew to her throat. She tried to scream, but her voice was gone. A floor loomed below her and she grew terrified as it loomed closer. But instead of slaming into the ground she stopped just short and was slowly lowered to the ground. It was then she realized her eyes were closed and she cautiously opened them.

To her surprise there was a boy her age in front of her. She blinked uncertaintly and noticed that he too was puzzled by her appearance. But his look of puzzlement quickly became guarded and he backed away from her, "Who are you? Another monster to torment me?"

It was then she noticed how badly he was sweating. With deep bags under his icy blue eyes and his clothes were dirty and torn. "I-I'm not a monster," she couldn't think of what else she could say to him, "My name is Serena Togashi." He didn't move closer, but he didn't move away either. "What's your name?" she asked gently.

He paused for a moment, "Seto Kaiba." He said at last.

Serena took a deep breath and took a step forward, he didn't react, so she took another, "Do you know where we are?" she asked. But before he could answer he seemed to stop breathing and then fell forward. Serena ran forward and caught him, he was slumped against her shoulders and she could barely support his weight. She lowered him to the ground and laid his head in her lap.

Her ribs began to hurt and she looked closely at Seto Kaiba. He seemed to be barely conscious, but his lips began to move and she could hear him say, "I must be in Hell, but you are an angel if I ever saw one…" He closed his eyes and fell asleep. Again she felt the twinge in her chest and carefully lifted up Seto's jacket, his ribs were bruised and scratched.

She looked else where and there were similar bruises and scratches on his arms and legs. She managed to ignore the pain and looked closely at him. His handsome face was peaceful, unlike before when he had been wary of her. She ran her fingers through his brown hair and couldn't resist to touch his cheek and run a finger along his jaw line. She paused as her thumb passed over his lips and they parted slightly at her touch. A thought crossed her mind, but she quickly pulled away her hand and shook her head to disgard the the thought.

"This is a dream," she said to herself. "And the president of Kaiba Corporations is asleep in my lap. This must be dream." Yet,_ but how can I feel pain in a dream?_ She thought for a moment but was interrupted by a earpiercing shriek.

She quickly looked around and all around her were women with painted faces. They looked hungrily at her and shrieked once more. Serena quickly stood up and couldn't believe what she was seeing, or how terrified she felt. She quickly bent next to Seto, "Wake up!," she cried. She didn't want to be alone. She stood over his body as the women started shuffling towards her.

Their clothes were torn and bloody, with tears of blood staining their faces in long lines. There were ten, each with long nails that they held threathingly towards her. Serena could hear heart pounding in her ears and found she was breathing heavily. Soon they were upon her, scratching her and biting, tearing at her clothes. She thrashed out at them, kicking and hitting anywhere she could. But there were to many and she was bleeding heavily.

She saw one bend down and take one finger to gently stroke Seto's chest, the woman looked longingly at him and suddenly an overwhelming need to protect Seto came upon Serena. She shouted, louder and higher than the women had, it came out in one high pure note that made the women stop and cover their ears. They shied away and screeched in agony.

Even Seto woke up and looked in amazement as they backed away and finally disappeared into the darkness around them. Serena stopped her scream and collapsed to the floor. Her blazer was completely torn off and her shirt was in shreds, she clasped her shaking shoulders and started crying uncontrollably.

Seto drapped his jacket over her and put a hand on her cheek, lifting her face to his. He wiped the tears from her face and kissed her lightly, "Surely angels do not cry."

"I'm no angel. Just a girl who wants to go home."

"You and I are not so different then," he said. She looked at him and his face was once again worn and tired, but his handsomeness remained.

She put her arms through the sleeves and buttoned the jacket, glad that it covered her naked torso. "Thank you," she said. She looked at the buttons on the sleeves and then realized, "This is your school uniform, isn't it? You go to my high school?" she looked up him and he blinked, also understanding what she had said. "I don't ever remember seeing you at school."

"I-I don't go a lot, I'm very busy," he said. She was going to ask him another question, but then her back grew rigid as she heard a scraping sound from behind. Seto's eyes were wide with fright and he stood up. He grabbed her hands a dragged her with him. She turned to look behind and there was another monster, sluggishly moving towards them, dragging with it a chain of people all bound at the ankles.

Their faces were frozen in terror, mutilated bodies jutting out at odd angles, leaving a trail of fresh blood in their wake, even those that had started to decompose were bleeding freshly onto the ground. The area quickly filled with it and even touched Seto and Serena's feet.

Serena let out a strangeled cry as one of the bodies blinked at her and turned away. Seto held her close, but she could feel his own heart pounding with fear. "I can't take this anymore," Seto shouted. His hands flew up to his head and he pulled at his hair, eyes crazed with horror and dread.

Serena pulled his hands from his scalp and held them tightly, "Wait, please Seto." Seto looked around wildly and Serena held his face with her hands. "Please. If we believe in each other and trust each other, we can do this. Don't leave me alone, please…" She looked pleadingly at him and he began to breathe normally. He kissed her once more and when they looked up the monster was gone.

"I trust you," he said. "I always will."

And that was how it continued, for endless hours a new terror would come and then they would help each other through it. Each keeping the other from madness in their nightmare, until they could wake in the light of day.


	2. Chapter 1: Awake

Author's Note: I've been on a roll this weekend, my writer's block has vanished!!! Yippee! Lady Foxgloves

Chapter 1: Awake

Serena woke in a very uncomfortable bed in a hospital. She looked around, dazed. There were monitors and other medical equipment around her and she could see her mother sleeping in a chair outside the window that looked into the hall. She looked again to her left, to see her twin sister huddled in a chair by the window. There was a maple tree outside and it brushed against the window as the wind blew through it.

Her twin shared her same looks and complexion, with the same dark hair; the only difference was that her eyes were a dark brown. Serena looked at how tired she seemed, there was an Algebra book draped over the side of the chair, and a notebook on her lap.

Serena stared at the maple for a moment, and then tried to move her arms. Her body ached all over and she used her hands to brush her tangled mass of hair from her face. She felt exhausted and remembered the terrible dream she had had. But why she was in the hospital she couldn't tell for the life of her.

She leaned her head against the wall and sat motionless for a while, she briefly thought of waking her sister, or may be her mom, but more important things seemed to be on her mind. She thought about Seto, not just Seto, but Seto _Kaiba_, it finally dawned on her, he was the multi millionaire of Kaiba Corporations. She couldn't believe it and immediately thought to herself, _I must be crazy, Seto Kaiba? It's impossible…probably some crazy dream. But, what really did happen? This is all too weird…_

Her thoughts were interrupted by a startled gasp from her left; her sister was awake and was very emotionally, shall we say, freaking out. "Oh god! Serena! You're awake!" She ran over and hopped up next to her on the bed; she started to cry and hugged Serena tight.

"Celina, please don't cry right now…" Serena patted her sister on the head and waited for her to calm down, "Can you tell me what happened?"

This seemed to calm Celina down considerably. She hastily wiped her eyes; "Last night I woke up and you were thrashing around in bed! I could feel how terrified you were, but when I tried to wake you-you just started screaming! You scared us all so bad; we had to call a doctor to sedate you. Serena, what were you dreaming?" Celina looked pleadingly at Serena.

Serena started, "Ah, I can't remember," she lied. "I really don't know, but um, I should get up now then," she tried to get up but Celina pushed her back down.

"Now just a second! You can't lie to me, I felt it Serena. Something scared you half to death! The doctors have no idea what could have caused it."

"It was just a nightmare," Serena sighed and looked out the window. "It was a bad dream and nothing else." Celina searched her twin's face, but could tell she wouldn't get anything from her.

Suddenly Serena doubled over in pain, "Ow! Oh, can we please get out of here soon? I swear the guy next door is killing me!"

"I'm so sorry! I'll get mom and dad right away! I guess I don't know what it's like; to feel that sort of pain…emotions never hurt that badly..."

Serena and Celina were not like normal people. They had a rather difficult power that could be a curse or a blessing. Serena could feel any physical pain of those nearby, or any one she cared about. Celina on the other hand, could feel the emotions of those around her and those she cared about.

Serena sat quietly in the bed and bit her lip to keep from crying out as the patient next door with severe burns was. Luckily they had finally given him some medicine and she was able to breathe once more and think about the dream she had had, the worst of them all. She thought to herself, _was it real? May be it was just a dream. Everything felt so real…_ She shuddered slightly remembering the dream and for a moment wished it were real so that Seto Kaiba was with her, understanding her fear.

She remembered his touch on her cheek, wiping away her tears, his warm jacket, his lips against hers… Serena shook her head, telling herself how impossible it was. It was only a dream, she told herself, a nightmare. And yet thinking about Seto made her want it to be real. She tried to distract herself and looked about.

Serena looked out into the hallway and saw her mother crying heavily. Celina hugged her and winced slightly; she imagined the over whelming emotions their mother was probably throwing at her. And for a moment, she was glad she only felt other's physical pain.


	3. Chapter 2: Little Brother

Author's Note: And I'd like to thank all the little people out there! (I kid, I kid) -Lady Foxgloves

Chapter 2: Little Brother

Serena was walking home from the supermarket with a paper bag filled with the items her mother needed for tonight. They were having more relatives over and there was major food preparation going on at their house. She came to the street light and the walking sign turned green. As she stepped onto the street a car swerved around the corner. Serena leapt back to the sidewalk. "Watch it buddy!" She screamed at the laughing men in the car. She shook her head and crossed the street, "Jerks."

She decided to take the long way through the park instead of going right home. She always enjoyed being outside, and after the doctors had made her stay the rest of the day at the hospital for tests she appreciated it even more. The air outside was light and a breeze blew the trees so their leaves rustled against each other. It was then she heard someone cry.

She was in the middle of the park and not many people were there that afternoon. She looked around and could see no one, so she listened carefully. Then she felt a punch to her face. It didn't hurt much, but she put a hand up to her face. Then her stomach began to hurt and she found breathing hard, like someone had kicked her. She set down the grocery bag and looked around frantically. Listening hard she heard some voices from behind a hedge.

"Get away from me!" The voice was that of a little boy and she pushed her way through the bush. On the ground sat a boy with black hair and he was surrounded by three other boys who seemed to be in junior high. They looked up at her as she appeared.

"Hey," she pointed at the three boys, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"We're doing what ever we want!" A boy with blonde hair stepped forward.

"Yeah!" Another boy piped up from behind him. "So get lost girlie!"

Serena raised her eyebrows, "Girlie?" She pushed up her sleeves. "Listen pal, I don't take well to bullies. So if you know what's good for you, _you'd_ get lost."

"Look at this! She thinks she's going to make _us_ leave!" The two other boys snickered in the background, "Listen babe, how's about this? May be if you stand there quietly while I beat this brat up, I'll let you go out with me." He grinned and looked at her suggestively, then tilted his head around and laughed with his friends.

Serena narrowed her eyes and gave all the boys a savage glare. The blonde's friends actually stepped back a bit and made him turn to face her again. Taken aback by her stare he didn't even try to block the punch she threw at him.

He hit the ground with a thud and held his hand up to his eye, obviously surprised. His friends were seemed shocked that their leader was taken out by a girl and one even let out a small laugh.

Hearing the laugh, the blonde immediately sprung up and poised himself to attack, he said, "I warned you, now you'll have to pay." He charged at her and she stepped nimbly to the side. Punching the back of his head he went sprawling head over heels into a bush.

Turning to the others she gave them another deadly glare, "Who's next?" They all screamed and ran away. Then the blonde haired boy pulled himself from the bushes and realized he was alone. He followed his friends, only yelling as he went, "Just you wait! You'll be sorry you ever interfered!"

"Hmph, fools." Serena turned to the small boy still huddled on the ground. She turned towards him and he shied away. She looked kindly at him, "Please, don't be afraid." She knelt down beside him and took a handkerchief out of her pocket. His face was hidden by his hair and he turned a little towards her, "Can I see?" She motioned towards his face and he reluctantly turned it towards her.

The area around his eye was red and beginning to show signs of swelling, his lip was also bleeding and his breath seemed labored. "What's your name?" she asked quietly.

"Mokuba…" Serena handed him the handkerchief and he hesitated before taking it and pressing it to his lip.

"I'm Serena," she stood up and held out her hand to Mokuba, "Let's go sit on a bench." He looked at her hand and then after a moment he got up on his own.

"Look lady, I think I'm going to go now…" He still wouldn't meet her eyes.

"Lady?" Serena put her hands on her hips, "I gave you my name. And where are your manners? I just saved your ass!"

"Thank you," he grumbled.

"Hmph, come on. If you're really thankful you'll share an orange with me." Mokuba looked confused for a moment, but then followed her out of the hedges. She picked up the groceries where she had set them and sat down on a park bench. After digging an orange out she patted the seat next to her for Mokuba to sit at.

He cautiously sat down as Serena peeled away the thick skin from the orange. As she pulled at the skin it sprayed a fine mist of citrus into the air that wind carried away. "We're in luck," Serena said with a smile. "You can always tell how juicy an orange is going to be by how much moisture is in the skin."

Mokuba looked as she threw the skin into the grass and small birds began to gather to pick at it. "Why are you being so nice to me?" he asked as she handed a section of the fruit to him.

Serena looked at Mokuba's light blue eyes and couldn't help but feel as if she had seen them before, she ignored this though and laughed, "Why shouldn't I be so nice to you?" She looked curiously at him while she bit into her own section of the orange.

"My brother says…" Mokuba took the handkerchief away from his mouth, "My brother says that you can't trust other people. You can only trust yourself."

"Do you believe that?"

"Of course! My brother is always right," said Mokuba indignantly.

"And you believe him because you trust him right?" Serena nodded her head as Mokuba realized what she had meant. "I think your brother is trying to protect you from a certain kind of person, like those guys back there that were picking on you. There are a lot of people you can trust; you just have to give them a chance."

Mokuba did not reply, but bit into his orange and chewed quietly. They sat that way for a moment until Mokuba spoke up, "You're really nice, but a lot of people aren't. And it's easy for you to say you can trust anyone if you give them a chance. But you don't know some of the jerks there are out there."

"And tell me, how can someone as young as you have such a bleak outlook on the world?"

"Ever since I was five I've had to deal with jerky corporate heads. I can't believe the people they affect are much better."

"Corporate heads? What corporation are you apart of?" Disbelief was written all across her face.

"Kaiba Corp.," Mokuba looked at Serena, "Didn't you know? I figured everyone watched millionaire families like hawks for excitement… I'm Seto Kaiba's little brother."


	4. Chapter 3: Meeting Again

Author's Note- A realized today that I should mention something. I use the name Serena a lot in my writing, because it's like my favorite name, but I'm not crossing the same person over into different stories. Each one is different. But I swear I have only one other fic with the main character named Serena. If you want you can submit your favorite names (for ladies and gentlemen) in a review and I could use them in the fuuuuuuture. -Lady Foxgloves

Chapter 3: Meeting Again

Serena couldn't believe what she was about to do, our where she was for that matter. Over the past few days after meeting Mokuba, she and he had formed a tight bond. Once she had gained his trust he could barely stand to leave her side, their relationship becoming similar to of a brother and sister. Serena was surprised how easily she fell in love with the little boy and how easily they got along besides the five years that separated their ages.

She could tell that Celina was a little hurt by her new found affection, but once she introduced Mokuba Celina couldn't resist hugging and smothering him with love. Mokuba had a genuine lightness about him; it just took him awhile to show it. It made Serena happy that she had found someone who trusted her enough to open up to her, especially some one like Mokuba, who had only ever trusted his older brother, which brought her to her current problem.

She was standing in the foyer of the Kaiba mansion and she thought she was going to lose it with the nervousness building up in the pit of her stomach. After a week had gone by, Mokuba suddenly came up to her where they usually met in the park. "Guess what?" he cried excitedly. "My brother wants to meet you!"

Immediately Serena felt her heart rise to her throat and had to catch her breath. A million questions ran threw her head. During school she had spent much time looking around the hallways between classes to see if Seto was there, but she had never found him. She had planned to give it up, but now Mokuba had given her the opportunity, though instead of being eager to meet him outside of the dream, she felt the need to sit down.

Mokuba looked at her with concern, "What did I say? Are you alright?" He put his fingernails to his lips and began to chew nervously, as Serena had noticed was a frequent habit of his.

"No! I'm fine," Serena said as she felt a tingle on her finger tip, which most likely corresponded to Mokuba missing his nail and biting his finger. "When does he want to meet me?"

Mokuba pulled his hand away from his mouth, "Today!"

"Oh," Serena let out in a barely audible whisper. Her head started swimming as Mokuba led her to a black car to take them to the Kaiba mansion. As the driver drove them out of Tokyo to a secluded road, Serena started to question her dream hastily for any hint if it had in fact been real or just a dream. If it had been just a dream, it didn't bother her. But if it hadn't, then did Seto Kaiba remember her, and the fact that they had kissed, more than once?

Serena shook her head to clear her whirling thoughts, _What happens will happen, I can't control that._ Mokuba started bouncing in his seat, "We're here, we're here!" he exclaimed.

They were on a tree lined dirt road in the outskirts of Tokyo. Ahead of them a wrought iron gate opened up and a circular cobble stone drive led up to the house. The car slowed to a stop in front of the arched door way. Serena opened her door and looked up at the four story mansion that loomed above her. Everything was new and clean, with carefully mowed grass and clipped hedges.

She closed the door to the car and Mokuba sprinted around from the other side, "Come on!" he shouted. He grabbed her hand and they ran up the stairs to the door, which Mokuba flung open, much to the objections of the butler on the other side. He led Serena inside and she let go of his hand to look around the foyer.

She twirled around and looked at the high ceiling, from which hung an enormous chandelier, adding to the already rich atmosphere that the large mahogany staircase had given to the room. She found Mokuba watching her proudly, "It's beautiful!" she exclaimed happily. For a moment she completely forgot about the reason she was here.

"Hehhem?" the butler at the door coughed politely into his gloved hand for their attention. Mokuba looked expectantly at him and he announced, "Master Kaiba has asked that you and Miss Togashi meet him in the East drawing room."

"Thanks, Jeebes!" Mokuba waved happily at the frowning butler and started heading for the stairs, "Beat you up the stairs, Serena!" Then be bolted up the stairs two at a time.

"Yeah right!" Serena yelled, running up after him. She took to the stair case and followed Mokuba to the right after the landing. She quickly gained on his head start and stuck her tongue out at him when she passed.

"No fair!" Mokuba cried, "Your legs are longer than mine!" Mokuba began to slow down and fell laughing against a wall. Serena joined him and wiped a thin layer of sweat from her upper lip.

"Was that butler's name really Jeebes?" Serena asked suddenly.

Mokuba shook his head, "No, I saw it on an American TV show once. He frowns whenever I call him that, but I can seem him smiling when he thinks I can't see." Suddenly a mischievous grin came over Mokuba's face. "Race you to the drawing room!" And he took off again down the long hallway. She raced after him, trying not to loose him as he wound his way down different corridors. He turned back at her and stuck out his tongue before finally turning down one last hallway. Serena lurched after and took the corner at a surprising speed.

Once she turned the corner she immediately saw she was about to run into something, she held up her hands with her palms out to brace herself from the collision. She hit it with a large thud and found she had run into _someone_, she felt strong arms go around her back to balance her. She was frozen for a moment before looking up and seeing the face of Seto Kaiba above her.

Immediately all thoughts left her except that his arms were around her and her hands were lying on his chest, which she realized was pleasantly warm. But those thoughts flew by and Serena quickly regained her senses. She pulled away, apologizing quickly, "I'm so sorry! I didn't see you! Are you hurt?"

Serena thought she thought something warm flash through his blue eyes, but it was the tiniest instant that was replaced by a cold stare. "I'm fine," He straightened his jacket, "But may be if you and Mokuba weren't running around like animals," he turned towards his little brother, "you would be able to see where you were going."

Serena was a little taken aback at his cold reply and had never seen a stare that had ever come close to matching her own. Mokuba had clasped his hands behind his back and shuffled his feet, "We were only playing around." He kept his gaze to the floor and Seto's gaze did not lessen.

Serena suddenly wanted to punch Seto for the way he treated Mokuba. _This couldn't possibly be Seto Kaiba, _she thought, _it must've been a dream. He was so kind..._ Serena thought they would stay in that uncomfortable silence forever, but Seto said, "But some people need to get work done, as you well know." Mokuba nodded his head and Seto continued, "Mioshi was looking for you. You should go to her now." Mokuba lifted up his head to protest, but Seto quieted him with his stare, "Miss Togashi and I can manage quite well on our own."

"Yes, brother," Mokuba began walking back down the hallway and waved bashfully at Serena as he passed her. She followed him with her eyes and smiled gently as he retreated down the hall. When she turned towards Seto, he had been watching her with what she though was a look of curiosity.

"Shall we continue?" And he turned towards a door without awaiting her response and slowly opened the heavy wooden door. He let her enter first before closing it behind them.

The room had green patterned wallpaper with two windows opposite the door. The curtains were open and the windows let in plenty of light. There were bookcases on all the walls, filled with books until their limit. There was desk in one corner and two overstuffed chairs in the room, Seto offered her one and she took the seat.

He sat down in the chair across from her and they spent a moment in silence; each studying the other. Seto couldn't help but notice how pretty she was, her black hair falling gracefully down her shoulders and back. Her eyes such a darker blue then his own, he felt something stir in the pit of his stomach and ignored it. He thought the silence would stay this way a bit longer, but Serena spoke, "You're different," she said boldly, finally deciding to take her chances.

"Different then what you expected?" He said, with an eyebrow cocked.

"No," she looked him right in the eye, something that made him feel uncomfortable and excited at the same time. "You're different from when I last met you."


	5. Chapter 4: Big Brother

What's that??? OH! An update, actually I wrote this about a month and a half ago and I'm only just posting it now... Procrastonators unite! Lady Foxgloves

Chapter 4: Big Brother

They stared at each other carefully, Serena waiting for his answer and Seto thinking about what to say. Seto folded his hands in his lap, looking at them intently, "Have we met before this?" He raised his eyes to hers.

"I think you know the answer to that," Serena held his gaze. Seto raised himself from his chair and stood by the window nearest him. Serena turned in her chair, but couldn't determine his expression by the light silhouetting his face. "That's why you sent Mokuba away, so you could talk to me in private," Seto still didn't move from his place at the window. She sighed inwardly, "You're not so hard to figure out."

"Do you think me to be awful?" Seto suddenly said. Serena said nothing and he continued to speak, "Mokuba needs to learn to be on his guard, which is why I am hard on him. There are those out there who will take advantage of him. You must understand this; the weak are not obeyed in this world."

Serena joined him at the window and looked down at the lawn below them. The object of their conversation was running across a tiled patio, followed sluggishly by a plump and fatigued woman shaking her fist at him. Serena smiled slightly and spoke boldly, "I think what Mokuba needs is an older brother who realizes that he is just ten years old."

"Hmph!" Seto grew rigid beside her, "When I was ten I had gained control of Kaiba Corp. and assured my brother's and my survival. Mokuba lacks discipline."

Serena pushed herself between Seto and the window and folded her arms across her chest, "And would you not show him or have him know love or trust?"

Seto glared at her, "How dare you, he's my brother, of course I love him."

"Do you think he knows it? How can you be sure?" Though Seto was easily a head taller than her, Serena felt taller than him at that moment, "How often do you say 'I love you' to him? Have you ever even hugged him? I would be willing to bet you all the money your corporation is worth that I have hugged Mokuba more this past week than you ever have." She spat the words at him.

Seto could no longer meet her eyes and turned his head away. He was enraged that she had dared to tell him how to raise his own brother, but something deep in the back of mind was prodding at him, jeering and saying, _You know she's right._ He turned around slowly and sat heavily on one of the large chairs; he ran his fingers through his hair and inhaled sharply.

Serena realized just how tired Seto must have been, trying to raise his brother, run a company, and still attend school. She knelt at his feet and gingerly put a hand on his shoulder. He tensed for a moment, but slowly his muscles relaxed under her fingers. She spoke softly, "I saw something in you that night, when we shared that nightmare. When you had completely given up, but then I was there with you, and you seemed so relaxed."

His eyes were fixated on hers and she continued, "Mokuba told me that you said a person can only trust themselves. But just for a moment, didn't it feel good to have someone with you who believed in you?" Serena sat frozen for a moment, uncertain how Seto would respond. He still looked intently at her, but from his eyes she could tell she had gotten through to him somewhere.

He gently reached out to stroke her cheek, becoming nostalgic for another moment like that from the dream. But then a knock sounded on the door and he quickly jerked his hand away. Serena closed her eyes and turned away as she saw his cold stare return. Seto got up and opened the door, where Mokuba stood happily. Serena had returned to her spot at the window, maddened at getting so close and then having him pull away at the last moment.

"Moishi said she's had enough of me. Can we play now?" Serena couldn't help but laugh at his innocent smile, though he had obviously tried to be has mischievous as possible.

Again Seto felt the strange pull at his stomach from the sound of her laugh, but ignored it and concentrated on the matter at hand, "Yes, you can play now." Mokuba threw his hands in the air and let out a whoop of happiness. "But please, outside," he added.

Mokuba rushed forward and took hold of Serena's hand, "Come on! I'll show you the gardens outside, and there's a maze!" He paused as they neared the door; he looked up at his brother with pleading eyes, and asked, "Can you come out too?"

Serena felt all the breath drawn out of her body waiting for his reply; she crossed the fingers of her free hand behind her back and hoped he would say yes.

"Sorry Mokuba, I have to work," Seto said. Mokuba grumbled softly to himself and turned to leave, quickly he said, "Another time though." This seemed to make Mokuba a bit happier and he nodded his head vigorously. With that Mokuba led Serena outside and they ran around for the rest of the afternoon and part of the evening.

**Later…**

Seto had just set down to his work after seeing Serena off. She had left 30 minutes ago for the long drive into the city, and Mokuba had insisted on going with her. Seto looked at the clock and groaned, it was already 10 o'clock and he had only finished half his paper work. Normally he would be finished by now, but Serena's words had been running through his head all evening. She drove him mad and he couldn't concentrate on his work.

His head popped up as he heard a fax coming in. He stood up and scanned the first page, disturbed with what he saw. On the piece of paper were a bunch of pictures of Mokuba and Serena: at the park, after school, walking down the street. But mainly they were of Serena.

He quickly grabbed the second piece of paper and read the thick blocky letters:

HOW MUCH DO YOU CARE ABOUT HER,

OR YOUR LITTLE BROTHER?

WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO GIVE?

That was all that was on the second page and he practically tore the last page from the machine. On it was a large digital picture of Serena getting out of one of his company cars, Mokuba following closely at her heels. They were on a traffic jammed road and appeared to be getting out to walk. Seto looked at the time stamp on the photo and gapped as it read 9:53 PM. He looked at the clock on his desk and almost retched as it read 10:08.

Grabbing his brief case he quickly pulled out his cell phone, dialing his head of security as he ran from his rooms on the fourth floor. As he hung up the phone there were already three cars out front ready to go, each occupied by several body guards. He got into the first car and sat next to the driver.

Opening his lap top he searched for a map of Tokyo, entering the two street signs shown in the picture into the system, he found a short cut to avoid traffic. Picking up his cell phone once more he called the driver that drove Mokuba and Serena, but soon became frustrated when he didn't pick up. Trying again, someone picked up, but said nothing on the phone. He spoke loudly, "Whose there?" He instinctively began to trace the call and repeated the question.

"Seto!" Mokuba's panicked voice came through. "Seto, we're-" He was cut off by a painful scream and a male voice laughing. Seto could hear Mokuba yelling Serena's name in the background, and then an unfamiliar voice came on.

"Good luck trying to find 'em, rich boy." With that the phone disconnected. It took Seto a moment to realize he was sweating and he hastily checked his computer, luckily the call had been long enough to trace. He gave the location to the driver, who then passed it on to the other cars.

Remembering the sound of Serena screaming sent chills down his spine. He clenched his knuckles until they turned white, barely able to contain his rage. He couldn't stand not knowing what was happening to her and Mokuba. And it tormented him, pictures forming in his mind of their suffering, and he only hoped he could get there in time to able to beat the shit out of whoever caused it.


	6. Chapter 5: Taken

Another chapter! Lady Foxgloves

Chapter 5: Taken

The blonde haired man threw her to the ground, Serena tried to sit up the best she could, but he kicked her back down. Her hands were bound behind her back, and she had to lie on top of them on the ground. Looking around frantically she felt a strange twinge of relief that Mokuba was still within her view, though she knew they were still in danger.

Mokuba eyes were full of fear; his hands were also bound behind his back. A man with long black hair pushed him down on a chair and tied his legs to it. Mokuba looked at her, a look that was begging for help. Serena tried to smile encouragingly at him, but found she couldn't.

Once again she tried to sit up, but the blonde haired man pushed her down to the ground, keeping his hand around her neck. Serena glared at him threateningly, but that only seemed to amuse him. He let out a laugh that made the hairs on the back of her neck raise up. "You just keep that up girlie, it won't get you anywhere."

Finding her voice, she asked, "Who the fuck are you?"

"Oh, this one's got a bit of mouth on her!" He looked at the black haired man standing behind him, and they both laughed together. "I hope you taste sweeter than you talk," with that he slipped his tongue into her mouth and firmly pressed his lips to hers. Serena almost gagged and struggled to get away from him, when he only held her tighter to the ground she bit down on his tongue, hard.

He quickly stopped and backed away, unfortunately Serena's own tongue twanged from the pain he was feeling. Using the moment to look at her surroundings, there was only a single light bulb in the dark area. But there seemed to be a great amount of open space on either side of her, she had the slight impression that they were in a warehouse, or some kind of empty building. But her observations were cut short as the blonde haired man bent over her and patted her cheek.

He said coldly, "Don't worry my lovely, you'll pay for that little stunt," he sneered at her. "But first all explain everything to you and mini Kaiba over here." At that remark Mokuba struggled against his ropes. He laughed once more, "You see, me and my buddy here," he threw an arm around the other man, "decided that we've had enough of you spoiled rich folk. And we're going to get even."

"And make a little cash on the side," the other added.

The blonde laughed, "A lot of cash."

"Yeah right!" Mokuba screamed at them, "You don't know my brother, he'll come and rescue us and you'll be sorry!"

"We'll be sorry!" The two imitated Mokuba in high voices.

Then the black haired man picked up a cell phone and nodded to the blonde haired man. He walked over to Serena and licked his lips, "Now the fun begins."

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Pulling up outside a ware house, the cars stopped and several men went around to surround the several entrances to the building. Stepping out of the car, Seto looked up at the building, the anger in his eyes showing clearly. He walked forward to the entrance and one of his bodyguards threw open the door.

The other men burst through their entrances as well and searched the place. There was a shout and his head guard came forward. Seto looked past him and there was the driver, bound and gagged on the floor, beaten heavily. He was quickly freed and Seto questioned him, "Where are they?"

"I don't know! They grabbed us a few blocks away from the car. They knocked me out, I'm so sorry Master Kaiba…"

Seto was about to yell at him but his cell phone rang and he answered it quickly, "Hello?"

"Wrong! Told ya you wouldn't find us. You see, just 'cause you're some rich boy doesn't mean you can outsmart everyone." Seto heard laughing on the other line, "So now you're gonna do what I say."

"We'll see about that," Seto said vehemently.

"Oh yea?" the voice said. Seto heard Serena scream once more, followed by a tearing sound and a distant laugh. "You know that girl of yours is a pretty thing, I'm not sure my companion will be able to keep his hands off her for much longer…"

"What are your demands?" Seto clenched his free hand into a fist, feeling his anger about to explode, he tried to remain emotionless.

"We want five million, American. And we want you to bring it to us, alone." Seto opened his mouth to speak but the voice continued, "Oh we'll know. As a matter of fact we can see you right now."

Seto's eyes narrowed and he glanced around at the other buildings, looking up at the taller ones. The voice laughed again, "I can see you're surprised."

"Listen here," Seto started, but was then interrupted.

"No, you listen! I'm tired of listening to spoiled brats like you getting your way. We're going to give you our location, ONLY you. Then you had better be there in 1 hour, with the money, or else." He started laughing again.

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Serena cringed as the man tore her school uniform. He had ripped off the pink blazer she wore to school and the blue bow from the front of her blouse, he grinned hungrily, making her want to puke. The he reached forward to take off her blouse; he got the first button undone when the dark haired man shook his head. The blonde glared at him, but to Serena's relief he stopped.

The dark haired man was talking on the phone, who Serena assumed was Seto. She hoped that Mokuba was right and Seto would come for them, but she still feared what would happen until that point. She looked at the blonde, he seemed agitated. This only heightened her fear, if he refused to listen to his partner, then who knew what would happen.

Mokuba was still struggling in his chair, tears streaming down his cheeks. She felt herself overcome with grief at what must have been going through Mokuba's mind. She looked to the blonde, "At least let Mokuba go, he's just a little kid." Serena stared pleadingly at him.

He began laughing, "No, we can't do that," he thought a moment, "but you're right, he's only a kid…" He turned his gaze towards Mokuba and Serena was in disbelief, thinking that he was about to let him go, then he leaned down and whispered into her ear.

"We shouldn't let him see what we're going to do to you," then he licked the side of her cheek. She grunted in disgust and spat on him. He backed away, his face contorted in anger. He kicked her viciously in the side and Serena cried out in pain. He stood up and went to a table, opening a bag he took something out.

"What are you doing?" Serena screamed. Mokuba's eyes widened in fear and Serena struggled to roll over and see what he had. She was able to move herself and she saw the man hold up a needle and syringe. "What are you doing!" she screamed again.

"I'm just going to put him to sleep for a little while. Just think of it as a nap," he moved towards Mokuba, who was trying to resist the man. He held Mokuba by the neck and jabbed the needle into his arm. Mokuba's breathing came out loud and rasping.

"Stop it!" Serena got to her feet and fought to maintain her balance, "Leave him alone!" She ran and threw herself at him. But he had already injected the drug into Mokuba.

They landed in a crumpled heap and Serena lifted her head to see Mokuba. He was blinking slowly and sluggishly lifted his head to look at Serena. He opened his mouth and she could barely hear him utter, "Big brother…" before his eyes closed and he slumped against the back of the chair.

"What did you do?" Serena screamed and kicked the man, who was still recovering and trying to stand up again. He groaned as her foot collided with his shin and he fell down to one knee. Serena ignored the pain she felt.

"You little bitch…" Then he cried out in pain once more as Serena kicked him in the groin.

"Would you quiet down!" The dark haired man called. He had one hand over the receiver of the cell phone and glared angrily, "And get her under control!"

"I'm trying!" The blonde yelled, he looked angrily at Serena and then said, "You'll regret this."


End file.
